Kiara Phoenix
History KP's not afraid to say what's on her mind and could probably cuss up a storm as much as the next person, but she cares for those she considers as family and friends. She loves her father and sister dearly, but not much to an extent of her mother. Ever since the divorce, her and her mother have not been on speaking terms. However, she does not have that distract her to the least and continues forward to chase her dream of being an animator. Then, things turned for the worse, and it all started with a text message from her mother's friend, scolding her like a child, due to that KP has chosen not to speak to her mother. After that, her father was starting to become violently ill while she recieved an invitation to the masquerade ball. Her encounter with the Red Death put her father's life in jeopardy and she has to play the game in order to get the antidote for her father. Can KP find the medicine before it's too late? Victim In Holding: '''Her father Dress and Mask (Hair color and style has changed. See new hairstyle on the above right of the page by Information) Kiara's Prologue Misery. That’s how low my life had gotten today. Depression, anger, pain, confused; all these words could sum up how horrible my life had just gotten. A father gravely ill, a mother who doesn’t give a shit about her family, and sister who can be on and off on her own opinions. Can you guess on which of these three I care about the most? It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. We are kindred spirits, after all. I suppose I’m not making any sense. Maybe it’s best to start at the beginning; about a couple of days ago. It all started with a text message. “SHAME ON YOU!!!!” That was the first text I had gotten today. Oh, great; verbally harassing me, huh? Not worth my time. It shouldn’t be any of her business in the first place about the choices I’ve made. At that moment, I had decided to not speak with my mother, and I preferred to be left alone. Why? For all the pain she has caused in our family; all those lies and acts just to get people on her good side. Did she really expect for me to do something for her in return? In my opinion, I don’t think so, since she deliberately did nothing for me, except gave birth to me. So now, I got her friend texting me, saying I’m a bad person and all that crap. Whatever, if she decides to judge me without getting the whole story, then fuck her! I don’t care! I’m sure as hell not gonna stoop down to HER level. I heaved a sigh, deleting the message and continued on with my school work, working with Adobe After Effects and looking up tutorials. At least I’m not in a worse situation. Of course, I told my friends about my mother, but only when I wanted to vent. It’s good to hear that they support me. I mean, they shouldn’t do the same thing; texting verbal insults to my mom? That will start a war, and God, I’m in no mood for bitching and crying. I know they wanna say something, but as many would say to me, “Don’t waste your breath. It’s not worth it.” It’s funny that my daddy taught me the same thing. I wonder how he’ll react when I tell him about this message. Maybe not, it ain’t worth it. Yet, I feel that if I talk to my daddy about it, it’ll take a weight off my shoulders. I’ll probably tell him tonight when we’re home. Traffic in Kite City is crazy and you really have no time to really talk, or let alone get their attention. You have to watch where you’re going. Our house lives on the outskirts of this godforsaken city. Nothing but the sounds of car crashes and taxi drivers screaming and cursing at people could ever please you enough. Yeah, right. I’m a country girl, dammit! Born and raised in Kansas and Kentucky; the city is definitely not for me! Of course, there are my dreams of working for Disney Animation Studio, so living by an ocean would be close enough to a country for me. If it gets me out of this city, I’m satisfied. Why rush on leaving Kite City? Well, it’s not the actual life to live. However, that’s not the main reason. About several months ago, a crime spree started with a ruthless killer started posting his murders online. Later, it became drastic when he demanded for them to be put on public television. Every one of them was the same; they were all horrendous! A victim, male or female (mostly have been male lately), would be sitting in front of the camera, and the killer, unseen (or a t least not his face) would only chuckle for a moment, and in one swift act, he would draw out a red hot blade and slash it across their face. Now, no one is for sure what kind of weapon he was using, because the aftermath was truly unusual and frightening. Their skin would glow for only one second. Suddenly, red and orange ooze and pus would puke out of their flesh, as if they were a giant pimple being popped! They would scream and holler as the sick psychopath sat there, humming some jazz tune. I would sometimes recognize the melody, most of the time he would be humming “Fever”, ironically. When the victim’s skin became too swollen for them to scream, or even breathe, they explode. I’m not talking about the pretty poofy kind you see in fairytales when the witch would melt or turn into dust. I’m talking about blood-spurting, gut-splashing explosion that land in the camera lens. The first time I saw one of his tapes; I nearly threw up and fainted at the horrible sight. The beautiful, yet disgusting crimson color was all over the place. How in the world could a freak like him enjoy torturing people this nearly endless pain before taking their lives? We didn’t much about his origin, only to know that he has an obsession of calling himself, “The Red Death”. The “Red Death” was taken from Edgar Allen Poe’s masterpiece, “That Masque of the Red Death”. And although it was sickening to think of it, it fitted him perfectly. “Blood is my Avatar and my seal—I am the Red Death!” He would laugh as he spoke those chilling words before the tape ended. Everyone’s reaction was the same; disgusted; horrified; and now feared that they would be next. I, however, feel a little less worry about being next. Lately, his targets were mainly big people, like business owners and whatnot. My daddy works as a citizen for a company; my mother has no job; we’re not one of those significant families. We’re just plain simple, getting in and out every day. We’re just…here. Getting on the metro, I popped in my headphones, watching the latest and funniest trailers of Megamind when my eyes turned elsewhere on some of the newspapers’ headlines: No Kills in a Week; Is This the End of the Wrath of the Red Death? Oh, yeah. That’s right. It has been rather quiet lately. I guess that could be good for a change. Of course, knowing the police, they would still be on their toes. Who knows when he’ll strike again? I guess it’s better to have a break from chaos every now and then. Let’s hope he doesn’t plan to resurrect anytime soon. I went back watching Megamind until I came to my stop. Daddy was at the end of the gate, smiling and waving at me. I smiled back and greeted with a small hug. We were tired to be overly excited. Thank God I live with him. “So, how was work, Daddy?” I would ask, and I expect that same answer. “Boring and long.” He coughed. “Plus, I’m thinking I’m getting a cold or something.” “Really? Ew. That’s not good.” “Oh, I’ve had worse. How was school?” “The usual,” dodging the topic of the text message. “Wanna play Fallout tonight?” “Oh, you know it!” We both laughed and walked together to catch a bus out of the city. He would take a nap while I would listen to my music. Lately, I’ve been exporting songs from the program, Garage Band, and instantly fell in love with the demos; I just had to import them! As I listen to one of them, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my head around, looking back to find a man, about my dad’s age, slightly smiling at me. “Excuse me, I think you dropped this.” I looked down a bit to find in his hands an envelope, nothing more; nothing less. That’s funny, I don’t remember dropping a letter, let alone had one. “Oh, I’m sorry, but that’s not mine.” I replied with a small shake of the head. He suddenly looked around, grinning and bearing his teeth. “Please, ma’am, take it before I lose my mind.” He spoke through his teeth, like he was being held hostage or something. Okay, talk about weirdness much. I was gonna tell him again that it ain’t mine, but as soon as I opened my mouth, he shouted, “JUST TAKE THE FUCKING LETTER!!!!” This woke up my dad from his bus nap and he stood up from his seat. Oh, you can imagined how pissed he looked. “Do you have a problem with my daughter, sir?!” The man shrunk back a little, hiding his tail between his legs. “Me? N-No, sir! She dropped her letter, that’s all.” I gave the man a look. What is he, an idiot? My dad turned to me. “Is the letter yours?” I looked back at him. I can tell his blood pressure was about to go in an uproar. One thing I fear the most is my dad having a heart attack. So, I sighed and lied. “Yes, it’s mine.” I swiftly grabbed the letter. Thank God we were close to our stop, or my dad would’ve given the man the “talk”. No, I ain’t talking the birds and the bees. The “talk” is more of a, oh how should I put it, talk-to-my-daughter-like-that-again-and-I’ll-pound-you talk. Thankfully, my dad just shot a glare as we got up from our seats. The man grinned and chuckled nervously. I blew through my nose to show him I didn’t care for his stupid attitude. Just what was his problem, anyway? As we got off and walked to the truck, my dad spoke up. “What was going on between you and that creep?” I let out a scoff. “You got me. I mean, I thought at first it wasn’t mine, then he got all jumpy and stuff.” “What’s in that letter then?” I nearly swallowed my breath. “Oh, just a letter from an admirer.” “Yeah, right. What are you in, high school? Let me see it.” “Oh, Daddy, stop it.” I laughed. “I’m 20 years old. I think I can handle a love letter by myself.” He gave me a look of un-satisfaction, but he finally shrugged his shoulders. “Well, you are an adult. I guess I can trust you.” “I wouldn’t give you a reason not to.” I smiled as he smiled back before he let another cough. This time, it was a bit more violent. “Whoa, Daddy, you okay?” “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he choked on his breath. “It’s just this damn weather we’re going through.” He coughed one last time to catch his breath. “Come on, let’s get home.” I gave him a hint of worry, but he smiled again for my reassurance and we drove back home. Maybe I should hold off on the whole text harassment for later. He obviously is catching a cold or something, and I don’t want his blood pressure to get mixed in with that. I looked at the envelope and noticed the strange red skull imprint on the back. A little vague, no? Strange how I find this imprint a little…recognizable, I guess? I looked at the front, but to my surprise, it was addressed to my daddy, not to me. Well then, why did the guy say it was mine? Should I even give this letter to him? No, I don’t want him to worry. If anything, I wouldn’t want him to worry so much. I hid the letter back in my bag as he kept coughing, groaning a bit. I could tell he was feeling nauseated. We finally parked at home, and I helped my daddy out of the car. It was dark out due to Daylight Savings Time, so it was hard to see in the dark. Opening the door, Daddy quickly made his way to the couch. He lay down, stretching out and coughing even more. “Sunshine, hand me the Tylenol.” I nodded. That wasn’t my real name, of course. It was a special name that my daddy had always called me ever since the day I was born. I treasure that name forever. As I grabbed the medicine from the cabinet, I decided to take a quick look at the mysterious envelope, hoping to not find a freaking bomb or something. Well, I highly doubt that a bomb could fit in a measly letter, but you can never be too careful. I opened it up quickly and read the first and only sentence. ''It’s not nice to read other people’s letters.'' I froze. What the hell? What is this?! I looked around the letter to see anything else written. Nothing. Just that one sentence that gave me a bit of a chill down my spine. Just what does this mean? Was it towards me? I stared at the letter for one more second when suddenly; my daddy let out a blood-curdling scream. I turned and raced back to the living room, only to find my father two feet up from the ground while someone strangled him by the neck!!!! My eyes went wide. I choked on my breath, ready to let out a scream. I nearly was too afraid to scream, but when my father’s eyes went into the back of his head, I couldn’t hold it anymore. I screamed. That’s what did it. That scream…changed the strangler’s attention to me. The tall figure was covered in shadows; no light was emitting his figure. But, I knew one thing for sure: he was looking at me; right into my eyes. He tossed my father aside like a Ragdoll and took a step towards me. Time to run and find the nearest weapon. I ran back into the kitchen, frantically looking for a knife or a sharp object. We still had a few boxes to unpack, so we didn’t have our entire kitchen essentials put away. I looked and looked and looked until finally; I heard a chilling voice run down my back. “Well, look who it is.” He spoke, followed by a small, but demonic chuckle. I was afraid to turn around, but when I heard footsteps get closer to where I was standing, I had to. In a quick flash, I looked down on the stovetop, only to find a dirty used frying pan. Well, if Rapunzel was able to use it as a weapon, then so can I. I grabbed it and held it up, ready to strike. “D-Don’t take one! More! Step!” I yelled in his face, trying to scare him off. He did stop, but that didn’t scare him away. He only stood there. From what I could from the shadows, I could only tell that he was tall and had broad shoulders from the outline. His hair came close to looking like dreadlocks, so my first initial thought, based from his tone of voice, he was African-American. I did, however, see halfway of his eyes. They were the eyes of a demon. However, that’s not what scared me. When I threatened him to step away, he only smiled at me, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. “And what are you planning to use that for?” He chuckled. I kept a firm grip. “Hey, man. You have no idea how hard this piece of metal can inflict pain! Look, I don’t know who you are or what do you want. If its money you want, I’m telling you right now, we don’t have much.” “Money? How could you think I want something as common as money?” “Like I said, I don’t know what you want, buddy. So please, leave us in peace, ok?” He raised his eyebrow, or I think he has one. “Oh, come on, Kiara-baby, can’t I at least say hello to you?” “No, now you can get--!” I spoke, but my breath stopped quickly. Wait a minute… “How do you know my name?” “Let’s skip the details, baby. I just came by to give you an offer.” He took a step towards me. “Watch it, dude! Don’t make me use this!” I raised the frying pan a little higher. He stopped, though, but gave me a look of unimpressed. “A little jumpy today, baby?” “I’m not your baby! As for the offer, I’m not interested!” He looked down on me with a frown. He stared at me coldly, but I kept a firm grip. He finally smiled slyly and shrugged his shoulders. “All right then. Fine. I’ll just leave while you watch your precious ‘daddy’ die.” I froze where I stood. “Wh-What?” Before he could even spoke, I dropped the frying pan and ran past him. My heart raced as I rushed to my father’s side. “Daddy?” I shook him, trying to get him to regain his consciousness. “Daddy?!” I turned him over and gasped. His veins from his neck were glowing red. It was the same as before. All those victims died from a fatal disease that caused them to glow red and explode. The memories of those disgusting horrifying videos filled in my head as I watch the red glowing veins stretched out from his neck to his face. That man I just threaten with a frying pan was none other than the murderer who has gone on a crime spree. That man that was in MY kitchen…he’s the Red Death!!! “No, no, no, no. Daddy? Daddy, please you gotta fight it!! Please, fight it!!!” I shook him in the process. His breath was raspy and weak. I felt his heartbeat slowing down, pulse by pulse. I bit my lower lip, choking back the tears. “No, no, Daddy! Please, wake up! You gotta wake up!!” I buried my face in his chest. I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer as they poured down my cheeks. No, this can’t be happening! This isn’t true! It’s all a lie! IT’S JUST A DREAM!!! “Oooh, looks like your ‘daddy’ doesn’t have much to live now. The disease will spread quickly…oh well. Since you said you’re not interested, I’ll just be on my way.” The psychopath turned his heel to walk out the door. I gulped the lump in my throat back down. “Wait!!” I yelled out, not looking at him. I didn’t hear him respond. I just hope he was still here and didn’t leave without an explanation. “What do you want from me?” I then felt his presence behind me. “That a girl, baby.” He chuckled darkly. “I’m hosting a masquerade ball at an old place known as Prospero Castle.” “Prospero? You mean that old abandoned mansion outside of Kite City Park?” “That’s the one. I’m here to invite you to join me, have a little fun, drink a few drinks, chat with friends, you know the drill.” I nearly flinched as I felt his long bony fingers twirled a lock of my hair. “And I wouldn’t mind dancing with such a fine, beautiful young lady like you. I wonder how you will look in fancy ball gown…” I jerked back a little to get his fingers out of my hair. “Apparently, if I refuse, my father will die.” “Not just die, baby. He’ll die a slow and painful death…and I’ll make you watch.” I gasped for air as more tears came down. “If I accept the invitation, will you let my father live?” There was a pause. “I’ll give your father the whole antidote, if you come to the ball.” I looked down at my sick father. I clutched onto his sleeve, choking on the tears. I knew at that moment, Daddy would’ve told me, “Don’t do this, Sunshine! You’re better than this! Don’t risk your life over me!” I knew that’s what he would say. But, remember when I said that we were kindred spirits? He and I think alike so much; it’s unnatural! Knowing him, he would risk his life for his kids. Knowing him, he would sacrifice anything to keep us safe. Knowing him, he would’ve done the same thing I did. “All right, you win…” I cried. “I’ll come.” I felt his Cheshire cat grin on the back of my neck. “Good choice, baby. And because you made a right choice, I bought you a gift. It’s downstairs on your bed, right by your little Simba stuffed animal.” Shit! The freak was in MY room! I held my breath, as I dared myself not to speak out of turn. “What do you say? Do I hear a thank you?” “…thank you.” I felt so helpless. I felt so weak. I wish I was stronger… “You’re welcome, baby. I hope to see you then. I’ll send an invite later on.” “Just, please…” I caught my breath. “Just, please what?” He mocked me. “Please…please promise that you’ll make my daddy better.” I cried again on my father’s chest. “I’m not one to keep promises, baby, but if you come to this ball, I’ll provide the antidote.” I slowly nodded my head. “See you there, Kiara-baby girl.” After a moment of silence, I figured he left. I can’t believe this. Of all people to threaten, of all people to torture so heartlessly, it had to be little, weak, me. ME! Of all the people in the world, it had to be ME! WHY ME?!!! I AM NOT IMPORTANT!!! I DON’T RUN A BUSINESS; MY FAMILY’S FILING A DIVORCE; MY MOTHER’S MOOCHING OFF OF US AND WON’T STOP UNTIL WE’RE PENNILESS AND FEEDING OFF THE FUCKING STREETS!!!!!!!!! WHY?!!! WHY?!!! WHY?!!!!!!! I looked back at my father, no, my daddy. The only person he had to infect was my kindred spirit; my inspiration; my everyday reason to live. And now, he’s taking him away. I rubbed my eyes dry. I can’t cry. This really is no time to cry. I gotta think. I just came face-to-face with the infamous Red Death. This is crazy. This is bullshit! No, wait. Calm down. Keep it cool, Kiara. Thank God Hayley was with her friends for the week. I can’t do cops, because what will that do? Create more havoc? They don’t know the cure! What if this is all a hoax? No, it can’t be. The red glowing veins are real enough. And the coughing from before could mean the Red Death had already infected him. But, when? He was fine this morning, and he didn’t start coughing so much until after work. There’s a possibility he got infected at work. Oh, if that’s the case, then it has to be someone he knows! Wait, the Red Death can’t be that stupid. He can’t just waltz right into my dad’s office and prick his finger and leave. There’s gotta be more than this. Thoughts filled my head as I went back to focusing on the masquerade ball. He said chat with a few friends; could it be his friends? No, why the hell would he have friends? It could be…I might not be the only one who was threatened by him. There could be others; other people who are forced to come and play his sick, demented game. It has to be that! I mean, having a ball and only invite me is just plain ridiculous! I quickly but carefully laid Daddy back on the couch, tucking him in with a blanket and pillow. Taking a wet washcloth, I damped it on his forehead. He was running a fever. I kept the washcloth on his head as I tried to feed him water. He coughed once, nearly making me cry again. No, I gotta be strong. “Don’t worry, Daddy. I promise I’ll get you better. If it means going to the ball, then dammit, I am! I’m not gonna lose you.” I kissed his hot, sweaty cheek. “I love you, Daddy.” I left him and went downstairs. I looked on my bed to find a large red box. Just like he said; I opened it up to find a rather beautiful ball gown covered in white and mint colors. Fitted with a corset and gloves, I found matching shoes and a small light green mask. At the bottom of the box, I found a small note, imprinted: '''A friend of mine will do your hair and make up later. I hope you find this dress fitting for you. Part of me wanted to shred the dress just to piss him off, but I knew I couldn’t. I sat back on my bed, trying to recollect myself. If there are other girls out there that have been touched by the Red Death, I had to let them know that I’m now involved. But, how? I could post something on the internet, but he could easily hack into my laptop. No, I need to say something; something that won’t cause him to come back and slice my father into pieces. I opened up my laptop and started to write. And that’s where I am right now; writing to you people out there. I ask that you stay strong. There is a way out of this, but we gotta work together to find it. This crime spree has to come to a halt. We have to stop this before anyone else gets hurt. My name is Kiara Phoenix. I am 20 years old, living a dream to be an animator for Walt Disney, and I’m a big fan of Jack O’Lantern, Megamind, and Tangled. My biggest fear is losing my father, and as of right now, he has been touched by the Red Death. Like you, I have been invited to the ball to play his game in order to save my father’s life. If there is anyone out there who has been touched by the Red Death, please understand. You are NOT alone. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all. -Edgar Allen Poe; the Masque of the Red Death |}